Longitudinal relationship of baseline functional brain networks with intentional weight loss in older adults

Abstract

Objective:The goal of this study was to determine whether the degree of weight loss after 6 months of a behavior-based intervention is related to baseline connectivity within two functional networks (FNs) of interest, FN1 and FN2, in a group of older adults with obesity.Methods: Baseline functional magnetic resonance imaging data were collected following an overnight fast in 71 older adults with obesity involved in a weight-loss intervention. Functional brain networks in a resting state and during a food-cue task were analyzed using a mixed-regression framework to examine the relationships between baseline networks and 6-month change in weight.Results: During the resting condition, the relationship of baseline brain functional connectivity and network clustering in FN1, which includes the visual cortex and sensorimotor areas, was significantly associated with 6-month weight loss. During the food-cue condition, 6-month weight loss was significantly associated with the relationship between baseline brain connectivity and network global efficiency in FN2, which includes executive control, attention, and limbic regions. Conclusion:These findings provide further insight into complex functional circuits in the brain related to successful weight loss and may ultimately aid in developing tailored behavior-based treatment regimens that target specific brain circuitry.

Aging and neural vulnerabilities in overeating: A conceptual overview and model to guide treatment

“…Following brief postabsorptive states, we have found that brain networks both in the resting state and in response to active imagery of desired food are associated with 6-month weight loss. 34 An interesting question for future research is whether these effects are moderated by decline in EF and other cognitive domains common to aging.…”

“…We recently conducted a second, longitudinal study to examine whether connectivity metrics at baseline in these two functional networks were related to 6-month weight loss, the end of the intensive phase of treatment. 34 During the baseline resting state scan, the relationship of functional connectivity and network clustering in FN1 was significantly associated with 6-month weight loss. It is important to recall that this network involves both unconscious sensory, motor, cognitive, and affective processes that are likely responsible for the intrusive quality of food craving, and conscious cognitive and affective processes that serve to elaborate on these intrusive cues fueling the desire for food consumption, a position consistent with Kavanagh's Elaborated Intrusion Theory of Desire.…”

“…We recently conducted a second, longitudinal study to examine whether connectivity metrics at baseline in these two functional networks were related to 6‐month weight loss, the end of the intensive phase of treatment 34 . During the baseline resting state scan, the relationship of functional connectivity and network clustering in FN1 was significantly associated with 6‐month weight loss.…”

Altered hippocampal effective connectivity predicts BMI and food approach behavior in children with obesity

“…The PoCG is the primary somatosensory cortex and conveys sensory information to the hippocampus, contributing to food intake regulation (Kanoski & Grill, 2017). Evidence from recent longitudinal studies have demonstrated that activities in the hippocampus and somatosensory were linked with future BMI of adolescents and older adults (Burdette et al, 2022;Park et al, 2020). Based on larger neuroimaging datasets, our recent multivariate resting-state functional connectome-based prediction study also suggested that dysfunctions in the sensory and reward regions that involved in encoding food cues may act as reproducible biomarkers of obesity (Wang et al, 2023).…”